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Lord of the Undead
The GoG decided to rest for the night, they would need their strength if they were going to be tested. During the night one of the walls opened and they were accosted by the mother minotaur and several of her young. She was enraged that we had killed her other sons as we traversed the maze. After a tense and nauseating battle the minotaur cow lay dead. In the morning, after much discussion, it was decided that someone would drink from the fountain and attempt to pass through the archway. Atreides volunteered. He drank from the fountain and was granted increased strength, there appeared to be no negative consequences. Next, he stepped towards the stone arch and touched the petrified door. Where he touched it the stone changed to a black and green portal which pulled him through before turning back to stone. Vath followed next, drinking the water and touching the door which, again activated the portal. One by one the Guardians passed through the portal, not all of them drinking the water. The next chamber was a massive throne room. On either side were golden statues depicting the various stages of life, each one holding a lit brazier. On the far side of the room, sitting in the center throne, was a large boddak, to his right, a massive demonic creature, a glabrezu, and to his left, a spirit. The demon spoke first, he said that we had entered the chamber of Orcus, the Lord of the Undead. Some of the GoG had heard the name before, those who did were rattled. Orcus was a demon lord, and a very powerful one. The demon mouthpiece explained that he had what we desired, Cultaervok. Kaszuk recalled, Tyrant had mentioned that Cultaervok was the key to defeating Scourge, somehow. The demon said that we may have it, if we are deemed "worthy." Hordes of skeletal warriors began to flood the room, only held back by Kaszuk's holy light. As the others began to advance on the dais the were halted by an unseen wall of force. The spirit moved forward to attack but was halted by Bastion's song. Atreides began teleporting allies beyond the wall where they did battle with the glabrezu. As the fight raged on Skia recalled the writing on the archway. She summoned several water elementals who, once they were summoned, spread out towards the statues holding braziers. one by one the fires were extinguished and, once they had all gone out, the glabrezu called for a cease to the battle. Zorak, however, was not finished. As the glabrezu released his grip Zorak sliced it's throat. Luckily, Orcus was not angered by this. He restored live to his ally with little effort. They had passed the test, the book, Cultaervok, was now theirs. Removing it from it's place on the altar they were able to see that the cover had a star-shaped indentation. Vath removed Recludum from his pack and placed it in the center. Recludum sank into the book, the lock unlatched and it opened. The first page said "(something about evil blood)" Orcus seemed prepared for this. Several skeletons emerged dragging a goblin behind them. Kaszuk attempted to use the spilled blood of the glabrezu instead but it didn't seem to work. Orcus, speaking through the glabrezu as usual, said that it had to be blood from a mortal wound. Zorak stepped up and made quick work of the goblin, spilling his blood on the the open book. Covered in blood the book slammed shut, splattering it in all directions. Recludim turned and sank farther into the book before the latch, again, came undone. The next page indicated that "his name" must be spoken into the book. The group tried Recludum, then Scourge before Atreides came forward and spoke the word "Ndulu." The book again shut on it's own and Recludum sank farther into the cover. Atreides explained that Ndulu is Scourge's true name, he discovered this along with Recludum and the wooden tiles the GoG now posess. According to him, Ndulu is the word that the tiles spelled. There was a loud click that echoed throughout the room, Ndulu was now unchained. The book opened again revealing two black handprints on the page and it read "(something about a wizard)" The GoG deduced that the wandering wizard is what the book was referring to. Orcus explained that the frequently the wizard would emerge from the book itself and wander off. The GoG would just have to wait here for him to surface. It was several hours before the book opened on its own. A pair of hands rose from the open pages and gripped the sides. Then, the wandering wizard pulled himself up and out of the book. He acknowledged no one as he began to walk towards the exit. Kaszuk picked up the book from the floor, opened it to the page with the hands, and held it in front of the wizard. He stopped, looked at the book inquisitively, and placed his hands on the black hands. As he touched the book the two inky hands grabbed his own. He pulled away as a creature began to emerge from the book. It latched on to the mouth of the wandering wizard and began to climb into his body. The guardians watched in horror as the wizard convulsed and gagged as filling with the inky form.